Pope Francis: Lent calls us to journey together in hope       Source: Vatican Media

In his Message for Lent 2025, Pope Francis invites the faithful to “journey together in hope,” and to take the opportunity of the upcoming Lenten Season to ask ourselves whether we are truly willing to heed God’s call to change our lives.

The Pope’s reflection, which ties into the broader theme of the Jubilee Year: ‘Pilgrims of Hope‘ focuses on conversion and unfolds in three key dimensions: the importance of journeying, journeying together, and journeying with hope.

Recalling the biblical Exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land, the Pope reminds us that our lives too are a journey-one that should be directed toward God.

This journey is not merely a metaphorical one but involves a constant call to conversion, “to leave behind the occasions of sin” and situations that degrade our human dignity.

Pope Francis, therefore, urges the faithful during this Lenten Season to examine their own lives: are they actively progressing on the path of spiritual renewal or are they held back by fear and hopelessness or reluctant to move out of their comfort zone?

Drawing a parallel between the Hebrew people’s “arduous path from slavery to freedom” and the plight of modern migrants and refugees, the Pope invites us to use this period as an opportunity to consider how we relate our own lives with the struggles of those who are forced to flee “situations of misery and violence in search of a better life” and “in this way discover what God is asking of us.” This, he writes, “would be a good ‘examination of conscience’ for all of us wayfarers.”

“It is hard to think of the biblical exodus without also thinking of those of our brothers and sisters who in our own day are fleeing situations of misery and violence in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones. A first call to conversion thus comes from the realization that all of us are pilgrims in this life.”

A fundamental aspect of the Lenten Message is the emphasis on community and synodality-the idea that Christians must walk together rather than in isolation.

Pope Francis reminds us, “The Holy Spirit impels us not to remain self-absorbed, but to keep walking towards God and our brothers and sisters.”

“Journeying together,” he writes, “means consolidating the unity grounded in our common dignity as children of God (…) without letting anyone be left behind or excluded.”

Again, he challenges the faithful to reflect on whether we are capable of walking together with others in our families, workplaces, and communities, resisting the temptation to become self-absorbed. Are we welcoming to others? Do we include those who feel marginalized?

“Let us ask ourselves in the presence of the Lord whether, as bishops, priests, consecrated persons and laity in the service of the Kingdom of God, we cooperate with others. Whether we show ourselves welcoming, with concrete gestures, to those both near and far. Whether we make others feel a part of the community or keep them at a distance.”

The third fundamental dimension of the Lenten journey is hope, anchored in God’s promise of salvation and eternal life fulfilled in Jesus’ Resurrection, the victory over sin and death.

This hope is not abstract but must be lived concretely. Pope Francis invites us to examine whether we truly trust in God’s mercy. Do we believe in His forgiveness, or do we fall into the trap of self-reliance? And do we concretely experience the hope that inspires in us “a commitment to justice and fraternity, to care for our common home and in such a way that no one feels excluded?”

Quoting Saint Teresa of Avila, the message urges the faithful to remain watchful and patient, understanding that God’s promises will be fulfilled in His time.

“This was the prayer of Saint Teresa of Avila: ‘Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one.'”
Pope concludes by entrusting this journey of hope to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, “Mother of Hope,” praying that she may accompany the faithful as we prepare to celebrate the joy of Easter.

Below are Lectio Resource Pages for Taize Prayer this Lent

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SAINT PATRICK MARCH 17th

Icon of Patrick

St Patrick an Icon 

I was delighted to be invited to view and write a short appreciation of this commissioned Icon of St Patrick on the 150th Anniversary of the Armagh Cathedral that bears his name. Icons are a way that God uses to reach out and draw us into Himself  Christians have venerated this unique presence by anointing icons with Holy Chrism and praying with and through them as sources of blessing and grace. Hence they are usually placed with a burning lamp or candle and incensed on special occasions. 

To pray with an icon is to be united with God as Father Son and Holy Spirit. It is to venerate those millions of disciples who in faithfulness have shared God’s Love and the Gospel message we call the Good News.  Patrick was a Christian disciple who during his years as a slave in captivity learned to relate at a very deep mystical level with God as Trinity during his time on Slemish Mountain and the surrounding landscape  His isolation and silence taught him to turn to his God as the Desert Fathers and mothers practiced in their isolated hermitages in Syria and the Arabian deserts. Mysticism is the gift of the community we know as God. 

Patrick became a deeply committed Trinitarian and this led him to priesthood and later ministry as a bishop; to the very people who had enslaved him and taken him to a foreign land.  We know from his writings both his Confessions and letter to Coroticus that Patrick was indeed fully attuned to the similar path being at that time explored in the Middle East the cradle of the Church  Filled with zeal for God like Patrick these souls lived austere lives praying the gospels and using disciplines like the Jesus Prayer as a means to enter the circle of life and love God enjoys as Father Son and Holy Spirit. 

In this icon Patrick is shown holding the Cathedral a symbol of the See or Church of Armagh  As its first bishop and founder it is appropriate he holds it in support and surrounds it with his prayer and protection. Patrick is wearing the pallium that special collar woven from the wool of lambs and kept by the tomb of Peter to be bestowed on every Archbishop reminding them and God’s holy people of our close link to the church of Peter and the Apostles. their mission or task was and is to share and live the Gospel as taught by and lived by Jesus our Saviour and Master  

Above the main figure of Patrick we are shown two more important patron saints of the Armagh Church, St Brigid of Faughart ( Mhuire na nGael) baptized herself by Patrick and also St Malachy who in his turn reformed the whole Irish Church and united it with fresh vigor to the See of Peter in Rome.  These patron saints together with St Oliver Plunkett are depicted on either side of Jesus on the present High Altar in the Cathedral,. In Patrick’s right hand, we find his great reputed teaching aid the sprig of green shamrock. With it’s three leaves but one stem. Three persons but one God. 

The God of Christianity although in continuity with the Hebrew God is radically a Community of equal but distinct persons. “ The Father and I are one “ Unthinkable to Jews yet revealed by Jesus as the core of all life here and in heaven. The intimacy He shows with The Father is amazing and inspires Christians to pursue a similar bond by living daily the spirit of the Beatitudes. Those early desert-dwelling mothers and fathers thirsted for ways to live intimately in the love the Father shared with the Son and Holy Spirit. “To see Me is to have seen Him. “ This was the new Way.  The Magi returned home in a new Way prefiguring a whole upturning in our knowledge of God. Jesus tells us He is “The Way, the Truth and the Life “ He lived this bond to the Father as easily as breathing air.  

We know Patrick shared this desire to know and love God and he longed to share this with all he encountered. Patrick was familiar with the great teachers of prayer.  Anthony of Egypt, John Cassian, and other greats of the desert shared their knowledge and teaching. We can sometimes be surprised at how fast the Good News was shared and how far it traveled. From Egypt and Syria to the Skelligs!  This Trinitarian Faith spread all around the Mediterranean coastline moving ever farther through Italy, Gaul, and Spain and it was Patrick who was the main instrument the Father used to draw the Irish peoples of the time to a new radical vision of eternal life and its prospects.  “Where I am you too will be “  What hope and what life these words offer to us. Today as then, Patrick calls us all to unite in praise for this Community of God whose living Heart yearns for each of us to step into their life of love. “ I bind unto myself today the strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same, The Three in One and One in Three. “ Each of us today must embrace these words and live our Trinitarian Faith aware of and living the relationship they offer us daily. Each morning like Patrick let us step into their circle of love embracing and taking ownership of the space they have left us to complete so that when we step from this life we will behold their faces and share in their life of love  I pray you may be indeed embraced by God as you gaze at and pray before this most holy Icon.   St Patrick pray for us.  Amen. 

Declan O’Loughlin. July 2023 

BLESSING SHAMROCK

Heavenly Father. We gather today to celebrate the life and ministry of Patrick, your servant. We ask you to bless these shamrock plants, our national symbol used by Patrick in his ministry to our ancestors, You are truly one God and Three Persons, a Trinity of love and compassion. Through wearing and having these blessed symbols in our homes this day may we be reminded that your Most Holy Trinity watches over and blesses our daily lives. And so now as we sprinkle these shamrock plants with holy water may you bless them † in the name of the Father, creator of all,  in the name of the Son, your Word made flesh and in the name of the Holy Spirit who consoles us and reminds us of your love for us, one God forever and ever Amen.